about popham design

popham design brings a modern design sensibility to the tradition of Moroccan cement tiles.  Our tiles are made by hand by skilled artisans in our Marrakech factory.  The designs take their aesthetic cue from our life in Morocco and the things that inspire us - the curve of an arch, a delicate carved wooden ceiling, the branch of an almond tree, the shadow cast by the wheel of a donkey cart (yes, a donkey cart!). Grouped into four collections - scribbles + loops, classics + twists, flora + fauna, and plain + shapely - the patterns within each are designed to be flexible so that the same tiles can be arranged in numerous layouts. In conjunction with our color palette, popham design tiles encourage creativity. "Have fun and show us what you can do," they seem to say.

popham design tiles are suitable as wall and floor coverings for residential and commercial environments - and appropriate for both interior and exterior applications.

about the dowe-sandes

Caitlin and Samuel Dowe-Sandes lived and worked in New York and Los Angeles for over a decade before moving to Marrakech in June 2006.  Samuel, a filmmaker, and Caitlin, a public relations executive specializing in design businesses, fantasized for some time about living in an exotic place together and starting a creative venture. The move to Marrakech delivered on both of those promises.

Shortly after arriving in Marrakech, the couple bought a 250-year-old home in the medina, or ancient walled city, and set to renovating it. Drawn to the geometric black-and-white cement tiles of the home's courtyard, they soon found themselves sketching their own designs. With these tile designs, they found a balance between their own modern aesthetic and the home's traditional architecture. An appreciation for the flexibility and practicality of cement tiles as well as the medium's design possibilities led the Dowe-Sandes to found popham design.